PERRYSBURG, Ohio — The 12th-ranked Catawba Valley Community College volleyball team recorded two victories during its season opener this past week at the Owens Invitational.
The Red Hawks defeated Mott Community College and Kalamazoo Valley Community College during the event, but fell in a pair of ranked match ups with No. 2 ranked Parkland College (Ill.) and No. 11 ranked Grand Rapids Community College (Mich.).
"This past weekend was a great opener for us as a team and program," said Catawba Valley volleyball head coach Madison Pogue. "We saw a lot of talent and developed culture in the gym, and it was great to get those looks early in the season. The tournament gave us a good opportunity to see how great we truly can be. Now it's about building on top of that experience and working to get better every single day. Getting better is about taking chances, which includes having a difficult schedule.
No. 12 Catawba Valley opened play on Friday at the Owens Invitational, falling in a close four-set contest with No. 11 Grand Rapids (21-25, 25-17, 21-25, 21-25) before battling back to win in four sets against Mott (19-25, 25-19, 25-14, 25-20).
Starting play on Saturday, the Red Hawks made it two wins in a row with a straight sets victory against Kalamazoo Valley (25-22, 25-21, 25-17) in the first match up ever between the two colleges.
Finishing off play at the Owens Invitational, Catawba Valley faced off with perennial power Parkland — last year's national runner up.
Battling closely in the first set, the Red Hawks eventually fell 24-26 against the Cobras, who would go on to win the next two sets 25-15 and 25-16 to take the match and their 10th straight win.
Team leaders for Catawba Valley during the weekend of play included outside hitter Carter Gibson with 34 kills, libero Abbey Smith with 40 digs, setter Amber Barker with 56 assists and middle hitters Isabella Richard and Hayley Stull with 14 blocks each.
"I am very happy with what we did over the weekend, and I am excited to see how we use it to motivate us throughout the season," Pogue said.
The Catawba Valley volleyball team hosts its first home match of the 2021 season on Wednesday when it takes on Davidson-Davie Community College at 6 p.m. at the Tarlton Complex.